Family is one, if not the most important, aspect in many cultures. While living here, I decided to save this blog for one of my late entries because of the various interviews I’ve encountered. I am combining this topic with que hacen durante su tiempo libre (what goes on during the free time here in Panamá) because it is very common for families to spend time together during their free time. Observing families and interviewing friends I have made here has helped me understand the family dynamic within Panamá. Click here to continue reading!

The famous canal- most in the US have heard of it in history and geography classes and are generally familiar with it and its history. But here in Panama City, every Panamanian is familiar with it and knows its rich and elaborate history, the manpower and resources that are required to continue its ongoing use, and what it means to the country of Panama and their international relations.

Throughout the world, celebrations are held to recognize different events and treasure important and special moments. Every culture has different ways of celebrating and remembering these events. Although there are many different celebrations throughout the year in Panama, I want to focus on the ones that I experienced while I was here.

The first celebration, that I was a part of, was a birthday party for one of the girls in my class. I have experienced many birthday parties throughout my school years, but never a birthday celebration like this. The teacher and the students were preparing for it for days. Obviously the student, Mariana, was extremely excited. I had talked to her about the upcoming party and what to expect. She would not tell me much because she wanted it to be a surprise. The only thing she did tell me was that there would be enough food for everyone. After hearing that I was pretty excited myself!

While on my trip to the Islands on Sunday, I was sleeping and dreaming peacefully in the sanctuary of my hammock. Or so I thought. I was abruptly wakened my sweet slumber by the sting of a wretched insect on my upper thigh. I went from a blissful slumber to an agonizing and shocking pain in my left leg. WOW! From the heavenly dulcet dream world into a world of throbbing and aching, that no one should ever have to know on a “deserted” island of tranquility in Panama.

After regaining my senses from being so rudely interrupted, I managed to refocus my eyes and locate the stinger still lodged within my thigh. Using the best tweezing ability that I could muster with my finger nails, I “Ramboed” myself a cure Click here to continue reading!

Each day I try to pick a topic of interest about an experience or something cultural that has really jumped out at me. After this weekend and the few days preceding, it was like a flood of inspiration washed over me. The only problem now is to pick just one of the topics and write about it. Every morning I am up by 7am, cook my breakfast and write my blogs. I sit outside in the front of the hostel and watch as the people walk by going to and from work or school. Sometimes as they pass they say “Hola.” (hello) or “Buenas.” (Short for good day). Click here to continue reading!

The family dynamic is an aspect of American culture that we’ve all learned without having to be taught in school. It’s an interesting thing to try to pick up on when you’re an outsider observing the culture. It’s also a difficult topic to ask others questions about, because there’s a lot of cultural stipulations around privacy and asking questions that I don’t exactly have a handle on yet. I was asking one of the students in the speech clinic, Milagros, about how much a speech pathologist might make in this country and if it is a comparatively lucrative career. She grew red in the face and told me, “no le pregunte“, “don’t ask that.” So when interviewing three other students in the clinic about Panama’s family dynamic, Margarita, Angelo, and Yulymay, I tread with caution.

The Panama Canal is one of the most impressive and fascinating structures I have ever seen. The engineering and mechanics of the canal baffles me! The canal serves many purposes, tourism being just one of them. The most important and primary function of the canal is that it provides a passageway between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

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The Panama Canal has a long extensive history, which makes it even more interesting. I love the fact that the citizens of Panama are so well versed in the history of the canal and the small details that make the story great. After talking to tour guides, students from the University, and faculty from the University, I was able to piece the history together with great detail. Each person has a new and different piece of information to add.